Usually cast as a dynamic though often ill-fated hero, as in Spartacus 1960, he was a major star of the 1950s and 1960s in such films as Ace in the Hole 1951, The Bad and the Beautiful 1953, Lust for Life 1956, The Vikings 1958, Seven Days in May 1964, and The War Wagon 1967. He often produced his own films. He is the father of actor Michael Douglas.
